The policeman accused of faking illness so he could go to horse race meetings was praised today for his honesty and diligence - and for halting a period of 'lawlessness' in Gloucester city centre.

PC Jonathan Adams, 32, is facing a misconduct hearing after going to three race meetings - two at Nottingham and one at Royal Ascot - after phoning in sick.

The Gloucestershire force say he acted dishonestly by claiming he was ill with irritiable bowel syndrome, vomiting, diarrhoea or migraines and then taking off to the races.

At Royal Ascot he was filmed on Channel 4 joyfully celebrating the win of a horse owned by an owners' syndicate of which he is a member.

PC Jonathan Adams celebrating Ascot win (Image: Racing UK)

But today the officer, who lives in Ross-on-Wye, was painted in a different light to the misconduct tribunal sitting at Gloucestershire Police Headquarters at Waterwells.

Retired city police chief inspector Richard Burge, who now runs the City Safe scheme in Gloucester, told the tribunal he first met PC Adams last August when he joined a new community policing team in the city.

He said the city had had been hit by a rise in crime and anti social behaviour in the last two years prior because officers were not being seen out and about in the city.

"We had a large number of beggars and shoplifters who were getting out of control," he said.

"There is no doubt something needed to be done. It was really really important that we had a police presence back in the city.

"PC Adams then became my main contact for the new community policing team. There was an immediate impact.

"I am not easily impressed after my thirty years in the police service bit straightaway I was really really impressed with PC Adams.

"He was enthusiastic, which I always want a police officer to be. He was hard working, he was interested and he was always out and about. He was very visible.

"He very quickly built up relationships with local businesses and the community to such an extent that they were actually talking about him and talking about the effect he was having on the city centre.

PC Adams has told the tribunal he made the three trips to the races because he found it therapeutic on days when he was so affected by stress from his tough job at the city's Barton Street police station that he could not face going to work.

The tribunal also heard from Sgt Matt Puttock who leads the community policing team that PC Adams now works with.

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He revealed that when the officer was at the Barton Street police station during the period when he went to the races the conditions were very fraught because of under staffing.

A new operating system had been introduced which was supposed to have five shifts with 12 officers on each. But there were only 2-6 officers available for each shift.

At that time, he said, he did not really know Pc Adams but saw him around the station. At first he did not notice anything particular about Pc Adams but then he saw that the officer was 'deteriorating' in his presentation.

"I also started to pick up on conversations about 'Jono' having difficulty," he stated. "It was so palpable as he was walking around the station.

"He would say 'I'm fine Sarge' when I asked if he was OK. It was not just him - there were other experienced officers who were also struggling at Barton Street. It was a huge workload for all of us including me as a supervising sergeant.

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"When he said 'Yeh, I'm fine' I didn't believe him because it was clear he was not OK. I spoke to others and started to build up a picture of a man struggling in that environment."

He said he despised lazy police officers but did not regard PC Adams as one

In fact when he was setting up his four officer community policing team last year he had specifically chosen PC Adams because of his engagement, enthusiasm, character and ability to talk to people, he said.

Mr Shepherd asked the sergeant what he thought of the force allegation that Pc Adams was a 'lazy officer who went on a jolly?'

The sergeant replied that the force investigating officers had only concluded that from paperwork evidence and not from knowing the officer.

"You won't find anyone who has direct knowledge of Jono to support that," he said. "It is my job to know and understand my officers.

"The behaviour they are accusing him of is wholly incongruous with the facts. The evidence just doesn't support that at all. I have seen the evidence day in day out."

Gloucestershire Police HQ

He said when he had seen PC Adams in Barton Street Police Station it looked as if he had been crying. That had changed completely when he moved to his new community role.

"I had formed the opinion that he was absolutely at breaking point," he said.

"But this is not about dishonesty. I believe he is one of the most honest people I know. I absolutely know that the picture of him being painted is not the case. I understand him better than anyone in this room."

When Pc Adams took up his new role he 'hit the ground running' and proved to be 'one of the three most natural police officers I have ever seen,' he said.

Had he known Pc Adams at the time of his stress problems he would have suggested he take a long period of time off to recover, he added.